That hurts, man.
But I agree. I’m trying AK Interactive. There is now a generation of paint that works in the a/b straight from the bottle, is not spirit based, and covers well.
With nostalgia, one forgets what a PITA it could be thinning enamels to just the right consistency matched with pressure, to have a paint session go well.
Bill
Don’t let it hurt-I’m in that group, too, vintage 1964. But I really do think that the market for MM has been in decline for a long time, and newer (younger) modelers entering the hobby have been using other brands and media, increasingly.
I think there is overlap between the core customer base for MM as for Squadron, again, because Squadron was the mail-order hobby supplier, when we were younger. For most modelers, if your local hobby shop didn’t have what you were looking for, you sent away to Squadron. And that nostalgia or custom is still powerful today, though probably not powerful enough to keep the core buying from them.
I find a lot more consistency with enamels for airbrushing than for acrylics. This brand tip dries, that brand runs… grrrrrr… It is what it is. I’ll miss their color selections, some of them at least.
Its a shame that they could not get their acrylic formula to be good quality. At least not the Model Master Acrylic formula. Their original Acrylics were superior.
I was a die hard fan, but I got so frustrated with the short shelf life, and I was having issues with even their thinner when airbrushing. I’ve never been an acrylic fan except for hand brushing, so I turned to Gunze lacquer. I really enjoy those. I will airbrush any brand if I need to, but I like staying with one brand for consistency.
Just for fun, I pulled my copyright 1998 Model Master Modeler’s Technical Guide from the shelf. What a differance a couple decades makes!
Back then, they owned the market for model paints and set the standards. Why that went away is, like others have commented, a combination of market factors and company decisions. Of all the products, I’ll miss the color choices of MM enamels and their consistent quality, and then there’s the nostalgia for Pactra…what a great line of brushable paint that was!
Modelling is enjoying a wealth of new paint products and I’m looking forward to trying new brands as my old stock is depleted but I can’t help but remember when MM enamels were the best you could get, right there at your local hobby shop.
Hi Mr.Mike!
Yeah, the reason I liked Pactra, I was the atypical workin man’s kid. School, Chores, and Homework. Then model building . All day Saturday with my friends! If I mowed the lawn and did the cleanup, Dad would raise my allowance by a Buck. Shoot, Revell got a lot of that through my LHS!!
We wanted our cars to look good so we used pactra. " No Brush Marks". Plus they had some gorgeous colors like Electric Teal and Chinese Red( Which was more like a " Royal Wine color")
I used the little square Testors and Added Talcum Powder to get a semi-gloss type coating .To much Talc and it was good for making Mud on armor and nuttin else. The “Squares” were 8 cents! Pactra was in the M.M. sized bottles and it was a whole dime per bottle.
After the service I discovered a new paint. Thanks to my LHS. It was called Polly"S" Acrylic. Washes off your brush with soap and water! My first very large Model was Revell’s 1/32 Mosquito Bomber. Brush painted that puppy and also all the markings. No tape pull-off and the colors went on with no Brush Marks either!
Then Humbrol, ad Infinitum; So where does that leave me now? Living in a houshold where I am the only one without serious allergies, I cannot spray unless it’s outside. So the paint has to be Low Odor, LowV.O.Cs, Easy Cleanup etc.
The additives like Tamiya’s retarder HAS to be odorless! I am going to, when I really get low, try some of the crafting brands. Some have Great Brushability and many have the same selections M.M. had. You just have to look for it! Oh, and it’s not labeled DunkelGrau etc.! It will be Grey Green.
I have gotten some Mig Jimenez and Vallejo colors and suprisingly they brush okay! I use that on my figures!
Testors sent me an email today:
ROProductSupport (roproductsupport@rustoleum.com)To:you Details
Hello David,
Thank you for contacting Rust-Oleum Product Support.
Yes this is correct that we are discontinuing the Model Masters and Aztek products. Unfortunately due to the lack of support for these product lines we made the difficult decision.
The Testors line of paints, both enamel and acrylic, are still being manufactured and there are plans to expand the color lines.
If you have any additional questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you,
Geoff
I find the new metal tint colors useful for both aircraft and cars. They are great for exhaust manifolds and pipes, and jet nozzles.
Just use other paint. It isn’t like we don’t have choices.
I glad I stocked up with colors I would for use ship building. During these hot San Antonio summers I use only Model Master due to paint drying on the AB tip even though the house is air conditioned. I believe enamel paints perform much better than acrylic paints for durability and ease of use. I stop using Vallejo primers and use MM flat black as a primer because the Vallejo would just rub off or I just got tired of using their additives to keep the paint flowing a little longer before clogging the tip. If I use Vallejo in the summer it would be with a paint bush but come winer I will airbrush with it until the cows come home!
Marcus [D]
Hi Marcus!
Long Time no Talk. Still working on ships. Just got ( Before the CoronaVirus thing) two paper kits out of China. One is a totally sci-fi Submarine. The other is the " Mellum’ She’s a coastal vessel for the German Coast Guard. She is patterned after the new Command Vessel I would’ve worked with if I had stayed on in California and under Contract to Clean Bay/Clean Seas. She has so much detail, I will actually HAVE to use P.E.On her!
Oh, and because of her scale I can cheat and use some model railroad detail parts on her too!
Well said, I think the problem is there is a market for all these additives the same way there’s a market for gold plated audio jacks. Even if it’s going to make no real difference people still think it does and will pay the price for their imaginary improvements. I’m not saying it’s all snake oil but I’ve seen so much grand standing over using distilled water this and flow improver that when good old fashioned tap water is getting 99.9% of people the exact same results. Sadly I don’t see it changing, we’re always looking for a new toy and someones going to take you up on that to make some money.
Amen.
I used to do RC car racing many years ago. There was a dominate driver in the club. So many others were seeking his secrets. One day he tied a small flag on the receiver antenna. Sure enough, next race, a bunch of others had flags on their antennas.
We hobbyists are very susceptible to fads.
I pretty much use Model Master paints exclusively. I like the way they airbrush and hand brush. I do have a few bottles of Tamiya paint and I like them well enough, but I don’t like the idea of mixing different ratios to get the right shades. I’ve heard good things about Vallejo so mayb I’ll give them a try. Anyone have other suggestions?
If you’re an enamel fan, try Humbrol. For acrylics, Mission Models Paints are pretty good as well.
Unfortunate but not surprising. I’ve used MM enamels for 30+ years. At least I have a good stash to use up before converting over to most likely Tamiya.
Wonder if Model Master will sell for crazy prices like old Floquil on ebay? LOL
Model Masters really lived up to the name, after 30 years, I finally think I have mastered how to use them.
Since MM has been getting hard to obtain, I have been using Tamiya and Vallejo and am frustrated at the inconsistancy of both brands. Colour Coats have been a good brand for me.
Probably not. I found that the stuff does age. While unopened bottles last a lot longer than opened ones, they still age. I have found really old unopened bottles that are not in good shape, and once open they really age fast. I have a pretty good stash too, but my stash slowly turns into the colors I use the least. All the hobby shops and craft stores in the area are closed except a Michael’s store, and they are out of the Testors gloss black I need. Ordered a jar from Amazon, but it will be next week before I get it. I have a model requiring one last coat, and it is sitting there waiting for that paint. I am tempted to go to the hardware store and buy the smallest can I can find of general purpose black enamel.
This reminds me of about the year 2000 when LHS locations were disappearing quickly and online was growing. The LHS had full racks of paint, but they were often old bottles and risky to buy.
Humbrol is the only paint I’ve ever used that was good after 5 years.
AFA gloss black, I have the same temptation, Don. Always worth testing first. My Caravelle will be NMF on the section below the cabin windows.
I have some old Humbrol International line (remember those with the black label?) tins of paint in my collection. Those were discontinued decades ago. And they are still quite usable. Model Master could have taken a lesson or two from them in formulation and materials.